CWA Asset Management Group LLC Sells 22,551 Shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC lowered its stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 87.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,274 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 22,551 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UPS. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,597,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,035,313,000 after buying an additional 613,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in United Parcel Service by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,927,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,989,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,921 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,289,624 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,080,170,000 after acquiring an additional 373,202 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 15,779.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 14,631,461 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,994,853,000 after acquiring an additional 14,539,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,627,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,448,960,000 after purchasing an additional 380,229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $126.70 on Thursday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.01 and a fifty-two week high of $161.48. The company has a market capitalization of $108.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $129.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business had revenue of $22.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. United Parcel Service’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UPS. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parcel Service currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,249,229.86. This trade represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service, Inc, a package delivery company, provides transportation and delivery, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, airfreight, customs brokerage, and insurance services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of express letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.